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Advice from Carolyn Hax

At family gatherings, my brother’s wife puts my brother down with negative comments, says indirect, hurtful comments to her son’s girlfriend, and is, in general, denigrating to other relatives. My mother has started to speak up when my brother’s wife says something negative about my brother, which appears to have brought on comments from my brother’s wife about how difficult my mother is ﻿. ﻿

My sister and I are trying to figure out how to not enable these situations and also how to not engage in her negative behavior. ﻿Should we set boundaries? Should we ignore her? We need help with how we should handle ourselves to make our family gatherings more pleasant.

— Two Sisters

No one has your mother’s back? When she draws your sister-in-law’s wrath for speaking up, the answer isn’t to leave your mother hanging out there﻿. You need to denounce the negativity, openly, and stop making it so easy for your sister-in-law ﻿.

The key to any bullying situation isn’t the bully or the victim. It’s the witness. When witnesses stand up, step in, say — in word or deed — that nastiness won’t be tolerated in this crowd, then bullying stops.

When ﻿no one supports the brave ones who do step in, then the bully gets a clear message: “Carry on.” Declining to engage is enabling her.

So please stop wringing your hands and respond to every negative blast, direct or otherwise, with a firm message: Not here, not now, and not to my family. If you’re concerned that it will put your brother in a worse spot, remember — he isn’t his wife’s only victim﻿. The wife’s negativity poisons the shared air of your family gatherings, and every single one of you has standing to suggest she take her hatefulness somewhere else.

Hi, Carolyn!

I have been a very healthy vegetarian (mostly vegan) for 20 years. Since then, I have found dinner parties and other gatherings revolving around food stressful. People ask if I’m vegetarian when they notice what I’m eating, and always (always!) at least one person will ask, “How do you know you’re getting enough protein (or calcium/iron/B12/omega-3s/nutrition)?”

I know people are curious, but it makes me uncomfortable to be put on the spot. I would never question someone, especially in front of a group, if they’re sure they get enough folate or how many vegetables they eat. I have started just saying, “I don’t want to talk about it,” which is true but is obviously unfriendly. And I want to be friendly.

— A.

How is it possible that a vegetarian is still an exotic species?

Actually, you can say exactly that — especially since it conveys the important message that that’s how you’re being treated when you’re subjected to such questions. A kinder version might be, “Did you know vegetarians have been grazing the earth for at least two millennia?”

﻿If anyone (rudely) presses the nutrition point: “I’d rather not get into it, thanks.”